To put a stop to our throwaway society, Greenpeace has started a long-term study into the shelf life of food. It is intended to demonstrate that the Best Before Date (MHD) should only be understood as a “freshness guarantee” and not an expiration date.
For the study, the NGO for environmental protection chose six typical products for Easter, such as colored and fresh eggs or ham. The foods are tested for their palatability for three months.
Anyone can easily determine edibility
“Anyone who looks, smells and tastes can quickly and easily determine whether a product is still edible. An expired best before date is by no means a reason to throw food away. This is now also proven by Greenpeace’s long-term test,” explains Sebastian Theissing-Matei, agricultural expert at Greenpeace, explaining the difference. Two weeks after the best before date (MHD), the samples were first tested microbiologically and sensory in the laboratory of the Food Research Institute (LVA) for appearance, smell and taste.
Observe the recommended storage conditions
The first round was passed without any problems by all candidates: Whether fresh, boiled and colored eggs, Easter ham, cream cheese, mixed rye bread or Easter rolls, everything was edible two weeks after the best before date. All products are still stored according to the recommended conditions, which can be around room temperature or refrigerated at seven to ten degrees Celsius.
Yoghurt lasted 26 (!) weeks longer
Greenpeace already conducted such a test in 2017. At the time, the long-term winner was the yoghurt, because the dairy product was still edible for 26 weeks, so half a year after the best before date, the NGO determined at the time. Six years later, tests are being carried out again, because according to calculations by the environmental protection organization, about 830,000 tons of edible food ends up in the garbage bin in Austria every year – about 26 kilograms per second. However, data on food waste is poor – in many areas there are only estimates and, depending on the situation, between a third and half of food waste in Austria comes from private households.
Politics must act
According to the expert, the Austrian government has set itself the goal of halving food waste per capita by 2030. However, there seems to be no question of success, because according to estimates by NGOs, 760,000 tons ended up in waste in 2017, which means that there must have been a negative development, at least in terms of weight.
“In times of climate and energy crisis, we cannot afford to literally produce food for the trash. Politicians must create full transparency and set targets that can be sanctioned for individual sectors. In that case, companies and consumers must do their part and handle valuable resources carefully,” concludes the Greenpeace expert. One problem is that many manufacturers would choose a very early expiration date to avoid liability issues.
Source: Krone
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